Van Gaal wary of Hammers attack

The Red Devils boss feels his defence has to improve on their showing after a 3-0 defeat to Tottenham in the Premier League on Sunday, while admitting that he is aware of Andy Carroll’s exploits against Arsenal.

However, the former Netherlands boss stressed his side shouldn’t forget about Dimitri Payet, who has been in sublime form for Slaven Bilic’s side in his debut season.

“I have seen the Andy Carroll show,” he said in his pre-match press conference. “I think our problem (in the 3-0 loss to Tottenham) was also the miscommunication of our central defenders. I hope that we improve our communication because it is a very important this game for us.

“He has special qualities. We have seen that in the match that he played on Saturday.

“It was also against Arsenal and they have great central defenders. So we have to cope with Carroll but also with other players – they have a certain player named (Dimitri) Payet, he can also play.”